---James---
James stepped through the barrier and was greeted with a wide-open field. Less kept than the tutorial and wilder, this field had long grass that came up past his waist and bumpy uneven mounds of soil. Hidden in and amongst the grass were strange bushy plants that looked like something out of a budget sci-fi series.
Ahead and to his left, a large wooden streetlight poked up out of the ground – its enclosed glassy lamp dim and disabled in the light of day, its existence…out of place in the wilderness surrounding him.
Not seeing any other landmarks, James walked over – finding the lamp grew out of a 'Y' shaped fork, the dirt paths themselves nearly invisible in the tall grass except when standing directly on them.
At chest height, three wooden signposts ringed the lamp pointing down each of the paths and naming their directions.
3km Bàndpáss pointed left and was marked with a sword and swirling staff.
4.5km Sèr pointed right and was marked with a cog and wrench.
17km Èros pointed forwards – away from the tutorial behind him. It was marked with a boat and several stylized fish.
As James stood considering his options, a pair stepped into the corner of his vision and began walking towards him.
James tensed then tried to relax – turning slightly and pretending to notice them as soon as they stepped onto the path beside him.
Are they going to jump me? Do they also want directions? Attacking first is a bad precedent.
James stared directly into both of their eyes trying to discern their alignment.
"...hey there, did you also come from the tutorial?" A thin man holding an axe spoke eyeing his clothing.
"Don't be dense Dave. He's wearing the same clothing as us – of course he's from the tutorial. Stop waving that thing around you'll frighten him"
Considering just nodding slightly, James hammered his stupid hangup down and tried to talk like a normal person instead.
"Yes, I just exited the tutorial".
You sound like a hecking robot.
"...neat. What's this post for?" The talkative player asked stepping forward and squinting his eyes as he read each sign.
"I think it's to tell us where to go Emil."
"No shit, ones clearly further away…so which of these two do you want to aim for?" Emil spoke gesturing back and forth.
James stepped back and slightly blended into the background as the two friends began discussing their options. He was 90% sure they wouldn't jump him and now he just wanted to fast forward their discussion.
"Think that way has something to do with wizards and that way has something to do with gears."
"Yeah Dave, ‘figured the same, I'm leaning towards the sword and staff. Gives me a vibe of adventure."
"Sounds good. It's not too far away from the gear… so we can backtrack if you want to check the other out after? Hey, you want to come with?" Dave spoke turning about to look at James half heartedly.
Obviously doesn’t want me to come as well.
"Nah, I'm planning on checking out the other direction" James spoke pointing towards the gear.
"…Cool, see you around. Come along now Dave." Emil cut in turning. A few steps away he noticed his friend hadn’t started walking yet so he twitched his head and beckoned.
“Stop treating me like a dog, it was one time.” The Dave muttered stepped forward and falling in line.
Bickering slightly the two walked towards Bandpass neither looking back.
Welp.
James hadn't been planning on a direction, but felt more comfortable going alone and figured any direction was fine.
Setting off himself, James began walking, turning his head back and forth as he scanned the surroundings.
Time passed in relative silence – there didn’t seem to be any loud wildlife nearby so the only background noise was the sound of grass swaying in the wind.
It was strangely peaceful walking alone and James relaxed after a bit, making a game of practicing [haste] as he went.
The description of the skill had been somewhat lacking – even if it had been accompanied by memories of using it.
Oh it was a simple enough concept on the surface. He could turn it on for up to nine seconds, move faster for a bit at seemingly no physical cost, and then deal with a cooldown three times his activation period.
The “move” faster was where it got a bit strange.
Every time he activated it he felt like running – walking quickly with the skill was almost more effort and standing completely still was nearly impossible.
Most of that was muscle memory and how he activated it which was hard to think about because of how instinctual it was – like switching to manually breathing…but part of the activation was moving his body forward and part of the deactivation was relaxing and stopping his movement.
He needed to be moving to use the skill and already trying to move as fast as possible.
Move “faster” was also a bit strange. There was a massive boost to acceleration and it was much easier to turn or dodge while using the skill. It felt like his inertia was reduced – any force resisting his movement lowered. His reaction speed was also increased, his body reacting to the increased ‘speed’ but also the surroundings better.
James really liked [haste] and played with using it in different ways along his walk.
One use was spent attempting to run on all fours – slower than he had hoped and incredibly hard to activate the first time.
Another use trying to run backwards – it worked but was harder for him to activate and he ended up tripping on a rock he couldn’t see.
He even tried walking on his hands – something he couldn’t do normally – and while he did manage a few steps he collapsed quickly landing on his side in the grass.
There didn’t seem to be a cost to his skill beyond its cooldown – after dozens of times it still worked the exact same way.
Comforting.
👞 Achievement get: Jog a mile in your own shoes.
Description: For walking 1.607km faster than normal.
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
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Stat: +1 leg muscle power.
Stat: +1 leg bone defense.
An achievement blinked up in James’s vision after roughly 15 minutes of silence.
It's good to have my hourly hit of dopamine and wow does that feel different.
The rush of stats was focused – somewhat obviously – and was the first major change James felt in his body.
Instead of vaguely feeling a ‘something’ moving into an area, this stat infusion felt like liquid ambrosia was trickling through his body. It was slow and despite there being no real nerves in his bones made him feel like they were cups being filled with warm tea.
Getting close to Band – no I was going towards Ser wasn’t I? Sounds like a town, I’ll figure out what I want to do there.
Attempting to whistle and failing, James continued walking while making mouth noises until he spotted a wall in the distance.
And what a wall it was.
As he got closer, the copper plating and uneven application become more and more prominent.
It looked like something out of a steampunk movie, with belching smoke and exposed gears and a floating blimp just above the wall.
James took a deep breath and moved to enter the settlement.
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---Richard---
Richard stepped out of the barrier shaking his head slightly at the message he had to accept before he got out.
Knew they would be changing some things. Called it. I fucking called it.
He was still dealing with the memories the system or whatever had shown him – overwhelmingly they annoyed him. He regretted his actions back then but having them shoved in his face made him feel like someone was trying to control him. Make him feel bad so he'd act in a certain way or something.
You were a grimy little shit who went along with gross bullshit and now you deserve to have bad things happen to you. You deserve whatever we are planning so bend over and let it happen.
Fuck that.
Richard wanted to punch something. He wanted to deck whoever had forced those rotten memories on him. He was carrying his hammer and wanted to smash something with it.
What do I want to do? What is this place?
Staring around Richard blinked through a haze of annoyance looking about the planes.
Spotting a signpost reasonably close he walked over to it and read the directions.
“Got it”
Not having a means to deface the sign – no paint or pen – he looked at it and then at his weapon.
“Hammer time,” Richard shouted before taking out all of his frustration on the structure.
Bits of glued wires and chips were underneath the wood – sandwiched between boards of plywood and linked to the paint somehow. As he broke through the ink seemed to shatter – moving like it wasn’t dried as it flung out into the grass.
Chunks of wood flung out in all directions and then – heaving slightly – it was done and Richard started to feel a bit silly.
❔ Achievement get: Killer of directions. (Rare)
Description: The world is a little more confusing due to your actions. Directions a little less known.
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Stat: +1 body power.
“People are going to start thinking I have anger issues and that's blatantly false.”
Wiping his hair back Richard looked around then started kicking the chunks of sign into the grass hiding all signs of his violence away.
I feel less strung up but still feel a bit like crap. Need to find something fun to do. Something funny. Cheer me up. Let's head that way? Bandpass is a fun name.
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---Maddy---
Maddison felt an icy chill running down her back as she stood once more in darkness reading her… “patch notes”.
Her altered patch notes.
Her wake up call.
“what…what exactly is this place. What am I accepting?” she spoke into the now ominous and claustrophobic darkness.
The message stared back smugly, not responding to any prodding or poking.
It just floated there – annoyingly – waiting for her to respond.
Maddy was frozen with indecision over the choice – her thoughts spiralling down the logical conclusions.
Permadeath…so real death. That’s a funny way of saying normal death. Reality.
I could…actually die.
But that’s normal. That’s not something I should be confused about should it? That’s what reality is and I’ve already decided this is reality… so this doesn’t change anything?
I just found out I had a safety net – I haven’t even used it yet! Why am I getting hung up over it? I gained something faster than normal. That’s…good. I’m ahead. Others are going to lose the safety net as well, I’m just joining them faster.
Maddy continued along this train of thought looping around those few points several times before settling down.
Unlike some arrivals, Maddison hadn’t been lying to herself about her situation. She hadn’t been pretending she was in some secret fully immersive VR test, or high on some cocktail or shoved in a new reality TV series.
She hadn’t needed to, to accept the TOS. She had needed a quick escape and the TOS made itself known in a convenient time.
If this is reality why is it so much like a game?
All she needed now was to figure out what she wanted to do.
“What do I know?”
“What do I think I know?”
Maddy leaned her head back and began speaking aloud into the darkness – trying to organize the problem in her head verbally.
“I wish I had a notebook to get my thoughts in order.”
“Okay, so here's what I think is happening. I’ve been brought somewhere…another dimension or something and should assume everything I see is real. Considering I had to accept that TOS and now I’m being told to accept this…’simple contact’ I’m going to assume me accepting actually matters.
That’s the biggest hint I have going for this actually being true. For the few scraps of the TOS I remember being true and for this message to be true.
That gold lettering…it feels different when I read it. As if just by reading it I know its true.
True…true.
If I just saw it laying around I might think it was…messing with my head somehow. I wouldn’t trust the suspicious letters that are somehow magically making me think they are true.
But because I have to actually accept them? Because it’s a contract I have to agree to? That makes it…that makes it more likely to be accurate, at least in my head.”
Maddy continued to narrate her thoughts into the darkness crouching down slowly to sit cross legged on the emptiness below her.
“…A few bits of it not being gold are even more…well the words themselves are laughably suspicious but the fact that they aren’t gold – as if the gold truth-telling magic didn’t work on it – that lets me accept the whole scenario better.
It also…it also lets me accept the information I already know. If whoever brought me here could do whatever they wanted to me, they just would. They must want something from me…well from us. From everyone brought here.
I’m getting distracted. What I really need to ask, is do I want to agree to this new contract?”
… it's simple and full of loopholes but maybe that’s better for this. I’m going to see about “breaking my skill into death magic” and…not agree to anything if I don’t think it's worth it then?
“I guess I do.” Maddy sighed then reached out.
...
Stepping out of the barrier Maddy looked around cautiously. The surroundings felt more dangerous without a safety net, more sinister. Alien plants. Alien surroundings.
...she suddenly noticed her scythe in her hands – noticeably absent from her time between areas – and tightened her fingers around the shaft feeling safer.
Carefully stepping forward she cut the plants in a swath in front of her making sure nothing could hide and revealing the path.
Where's my team?
She suddenly remembered her relatively new party. How had it taken her this long to think of them?
How long would they take? Would they come through the same place? How long had she taken? Somehow while choosing options all urgency had left her – she couldn't picture how long she had taken between areas.
It was probably a long time right? But maybe not…thinking back it might only have been a few minutes. Had her team come through before her and went on ahead?
Maddy did not want to stick around toward dark. She also had to figure out how to get death magic.
When playing games Maddy liked to hoard limited resources – everyone did. She hadn't used her quest query yet because she might need it at some point but if she never used it, it was a waste was it not? If she waited a full 3 weeks without using it once that was a lost use?
She needed to figure out a good query to help her figure out how to break her skill.
Clearing a section up to a path Maddy passed and read the sign while she thought.
"Quest break my skill." She spoke out loud, giving up on second guessing herself.
Quest board: Break my skill
Fall into magic and land upright: Use your skill and alignment to perform a action exactly opposite of its purpose in a place free of distractions. Reward mana, concepts.
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Through knowledge you may prosper: Recive assistance from the mad genuis 'Spook' located in Nox to break your skill safely into its component parts. Reward Aether infusion, Sealed core.
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Break your body, mind, and skill: In a stressful situation use your skill and alignment at a point you should not have been able to. Use it to perform something you should not have been able to do. Reward carries depending on actions, situation, enviroment.
Suddenly a sound behind her made her turn.
Both Jess and Troy were stepping through nearly simultaneously behind her. They looked slightly shocked and weary taking a moment to get their bearings. Focusing on her after a few seconds, both relaxed slightly and started making their way over.
"I'm glad you came through safely! Quick come over here, there's a sign and I think we should head towards Bandpass. It's only half a mile away!” Maddy called out.